Teaching EFL/ESL Reading: A Task Based Approach

Teaching EFL/ESL Reading: A Task Based Approach

University of London, UCL Institute of Education

About this course: This course explores ways of teaching reading skills in English as Second and Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) using a task-based approach. You will be introduced to the concept of task and the key principles of task-based language teaching (TBLT) and learning. TBLT uses communicative tasks as the key unit for creating language learning activities. You will also examine the role of reading in real-life and in second and foreign language teaching and current thinking about the interface between TBLT and second language reading. You will explore how TBLT and teaching second language reading can be successfully integrated in practice through analysing task-based reading materials. The course culminates in creating task-based materials for teaching reading in your own language teaching contexts.
After completing the course, you will be able to:
1. Explain the main components and tenets of a task-based approach to teaching language;
2. Explain the main issues involved in teaching reading;
3. Illustrate connections between TBLT approaches and the teaching of reading;
4. Integrate tasks into your own teaching;
5. Identify reading texts that are suitable for the construction of tasks; and
6. Construct reading tasks and sequences for use in your own classroom.

Who is this class for: This course is primarily for teachers of English as a Foreign, Second or Additional Language who are interested in the teaching of reading and in Task-Based Learning and Teaching. Teachers of other languages are also more than welcome to join.

Welcome to module 1! In this module we will be looking at some key concepts and issues that surround the role of tasks in second language learning and teaching. First, we will define what we mean by the notion of task. Then, we will consider different task types and the role of tasks in the syllabus. We will also discuss the rationale for using tasks in second language teaching, and how task-based lessons and sequences are typically organized. The module ends with an interview with Dr. Nick Andon from Kings' College London, who is an international expert on task-based language teaching.

Discussion Prompt: How do you typically structure a task-based sequence?

Video: The Task-based Lesson

Reading: Can you identify the stages in this task sequence?

Video: Interview with Nick Andon

Reading: References

Reading: Additional Reading

Graded AssignmentGraded: Producing an Information Sheet on Tasks in Second Language Teaching

WEEK 2

What is Reading and What Does It Involve?

Welcome to module 2! In this module we examine reading from a number of angles. We start by examining the cognitive element of reading. The second angle we examine reading from is reading as a communicative activity, and its links with communicative language teaching. We then look at reading as a strategic activity, and at the links between reading and background knowledge, and look at the way in which background knowledge is needed in order to understand three specific texts. We end by discussing ways of developing reading fluency.

Video: Reading as a Communicative Activity: Reading In and Out of the Classroom

Discussion Prompt: Discussing Reading as a Communicative Act

Reading: Optional reading: Bringing the Outside World into the Classroom

Reading: Reflecting on Reading Strategies

Video: Reading as a Strategic Activity

Discussion Prompt: Discussing the Teaching of Reading Strategies

Video: Reading and Background Knowledge

Reading: Optional Reading about Schema Theory

Reading: Reading and Background Knowledge Task

Video: Feedback on Background Knowledge

Discussion Prompt: Background Knowledge and Your Own Learners

Video: Developing Automaticity in Reading Fluency

Reading: References

Reading: Additional reading

Graded AssignmentGraded: Writing an Action Plan for Improving the Teaching of Reading

WEEK 3

Teaching Reading in the Second Language Classroom

Welcome to module 3! In this module we will be thinking about the ways in which we teach reading in the foreign and second language classroom. We start by comparing the ways in which we read outside the classroom and the ways in which we ask our learners to reading in the classroom. We think about principles for reading in the communicative language classroom and about the implications of these principles. We go on to consider the three-phase reading lesson and look closely at an example of such a lesson, and then look at other ways in which we can construct reading lessons, focusing on the way in which we can incorporate tasks into such lessons. We end with an interview with Prof. Cathie Wallace, who talks about her research into reading classrooms.

Welcome to module 4! In this module we will be looking at how a focus on language, such as grammar and vocabulary, can be integrated into task-based reading sequences. First, we will consider some of the options available in terms of the stages of the task-based reading lesson. Next, we will look at each stage in more detail. We will discuss the usefulness of pre-teaching vocabulary. We will examine how a focus on language can be incorporated at the while-reading stage. In particular, we will review research on two textual modification techniques, glossing and textual input enhancement. We will also reflect on ways of selecting linguistic features for language-focused work in the post-reading phase. The module ends with an interview with Dr. Parvaneh Tavakoli, a well-known researcher working on task-based language teaching.

Welcome to module 5! In this module we move away from the intensive teaching of reading in the classroom to working with learners on extensive reading. We define extensive reading and look at the main principles of using extensive reading. We discuss the benefits of extensive reading programmes, as well as the way in which extensive reading can be linked to task based language teaching. We end with an interview with Dr. Sam Duncan in which she talks about her experience of running a reading circle with a group of adult literacy and ESOL learners.

Welcome to the last module on our MOOC. In this module we will focus on the way in which we can write materials: we will think about sources for texts, about finding suitable tasks for texts, and will practice write new tasks for texts that you have already read. We will end with two interviews: one with Caroline Herring, a teacher in London who talks about materials she wrote for her own learners, and the second with Prof. Pauline Foster, who talks about reading and reading tasks.

Reading: Where would you find suitable texts to use for constructing reading activities?

Video: Finding Suitable Texts

Reading: Optional Reading

Discussion Prompt: Sources for Texts

Video: Designing Suitable Tasks for Texts

Reading: Are there any ways in which you can create activities that are more task-like than the ones in the current version of the units?

Video: Adapting Reading Tasks

Discussion Prompt: Other ideas for adapting the activities and exercises from these units to a task-based approach.

Video: Interview with Caroline Herring

Video: Interview with Professor Pauline Foster

Reading: References

Reading: Additional Reading

Graded AssignmentGraded: Constructing a Task-Based Reading Activity

FAQs

How It Works

课程作业

每门课程都像是一本互动的教科书，具有预先录制的视频、测验和项目。

来自同学的帮助

与其他成千上万的学生相联系，对想法进行辩论，讨论课程材料，并寻求帮助来掌握概念。

证书

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Creators

University of London

The University of London is a federal University which includes 18 world leading Colleges. Our distance learning programmes were founded in 1858 and have enriched the lives of thousands of students, delivering high quality University of London degrees wherever our students are across the globe. Our alumni include 7 Nobel Prize winners. Today, we are a global leader in distance and flexible study, offering degree programmes to over 50,000 students in over 180 countries. To find out more about studying for one of our degrees where you are, visit www.london.ac.uk

UCL Institute of Education

The UCL Institute of Education (IOE) is the world's leading centre for education and social science research, teaching, and engagement. Founded in 1902, the Institute currently has more than 8,000 students and 800 staff. In December 2014 it became a single-faculty school of UCL, called the UCL Institute of Education (IOE).
Ranked number one for education worldwide in the 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 QS World University Rankings, the IOE was awarded the 2015 Queen’s Anniversary Prize. In 2014, the Institute secured ‘outstanding’ grades from Ofsted on every criterion for its initial teacher training, across primary, secondary and further education programmes

Ratings and Reviews

Rated 4.6 out of 5 of 132 ratings

Awesome! The assessments at the end of each module are super helpful to consolidate knowledge and apply the essential principles of each section. The videos are short but loaded with expert perspectives and current scholarly research. I learned a lot! Thank You UCL! Extremely valuable for EFL/ESL teachers, you will not regret spending your time in this course.

Thank you very much for offering us another approaches to teach, I appreciate a lot!